One Winged Monster
by BrendantheJedi
Summary: Naota fights in a the ultimate test of endurance of body and mind against the One Winged Angel. Can he survive? Chapter 1 is finally up (Backround info only though) (FFVII Crossover)
1. Prolouge

Note: I don't own FLCL or Final Fantasy, yet. Check with me in 10 years.

"And in the moment I saw him I immediately knew there was a god for I was staring into the face of the Devil."

One Winged Monster

Prologue

His face. That is what I remember the most about him. That grinning, laughing face, laughing at the destruction he caused. Because of it I will never forget that day.

Even as much as I want to, even if I forgot everything about my life, I would never be able to forget his face, his laugh, everything about him and what he did. Only my memory of her is more pungent in my mind than of him.

It was because of me he was there in the first place. He came right from my head. I was the first to see him. And in the moment I saw him I immediately knew there was a god for I was staring into the face of the Devil.

I do not relish in telling this story. In fact I would rather not look back to that day. But it must be recorded like the other stories of Masabe. Like what happened 3 years ago. Or the rags to riches story of my brother.

Also if you do not believe that this happened, it's your proagative. I can understand, I lived in a town where nothing out of ordinary happened. But I learned that in even which nothing happens, something amazing can be there.

Or in this case something dark.


	2. Chapter 1: A Cold Calm Before the Firest...

As I said earlier, I don't own FLCL or FF VII. I just like them a lot.

Thanks to those who have reviewed. Except CSBoggs. That review was just weird.

This chapter is a necessary evil, back round info. It also sort sets the seeds for a future fic, one I have planed for after I finish this one. Don't worry; the action will start up soon.

I also apologize for any delay. I've just been busy for a while.

Chapter 1: A Cold Calm before the Firestorm

To completely understand the events of the 23rd of January, 2004, I must explain the 22nd of January. While I still have questions about it myself I can at least explain what is certain.

The 22nd started like a normal day. At the beginning there was nothing out the usual.

My alarm had awoken me. I had a small desire to press the snooze button and return to my land of good dreams. But I had things to do before I went to school. Instead I rose out of bed only to realize too late it wouldn't have mattered either way. I saw at least a good 75 centimeters of snow on the ground.

So maybe things weren't completely normal. But it wasn't any thing out of the ordinary, at least where Masabe was concerned. For it to be considered out of the ordinary by Masabe standards half the town would have to be completely obliterated and even then it wouldn't make the front page of even my father's tabloid.

But what it would do is keep me out of school, which I glad about, though it was spoiled by a rude and unneeded awakening. Now the homework I needed to finish could have been done later.

_Crap,_ I thought, _I could have slept longer. Oh well, I wouldn't of been able to sleep anyway. I would have worried too much. But now I have no choice._

I quickly got dressed and entered the living room. I saw my just sitting there watching TV. When came in from the outside.

"So TV boy, will the hired help be able to get here? No? Too bad, you and dad will have to work by yourself today."

While my father's zine had skyrocketed in sales he still had the bakery open. It was probably to keep a nice influx of money in the house so he could waste all the money from the zine all on frivolous stuff. If you have ever seen my living it has a big-screen TV with premium cable. I question some of the things he does with the money. He tends to stay out late and I don't think he goes out just to see the river at night like Mamimi did

"Dad, may you switch to the news?" I asked my father. "I need to see if my school is closed." I was sure it was but the good people of Masabe aren't always in the right mind.

"Already have my son. Shiden High is closed till Saturday. Something about a roof collapse caused by a mixture of a failed terrorist attack and the snow building up," said Kamon. I would ask what his ulterior motive if didn't already know it. He was probably going to pay a visit my deranged history teacher a visit. I've had her since the 6th grade. The school keeps on moving her to where I go. Because of this she has been driven madness since every car she has bought in the past 4 has been destroyed because of me, Canti, or an MM robot. He was probably thinking that she is in weakened state since it was most likely her who caused the roof collapse (Gaku said he saw her looking up explosives on the internet). _Boy is he in for a surprise,_ I thought,_ She'll probably kill him. She partially blames him for the BMW and the Porsche. Plus he is pervert which she despises. I wonder if Eri's parents could adopt me when he dies (I couldn't just live here with gramps)._

I decided not to make things long and hurried with breakfast. Because of the snow I could now do whatever I wanted. Instead of having my morning clogged with homework I didn't do, I could now explore the town and hang out with my friends. So I immediately called Gaku on my cell phone (as I said before, having a scumbag of a dad has its advantages) and said, "Meet me at the usual place. Also tell Masashi and Eri-san."

"Will do. Expect for us to get there in an hour," he replied and then hung up.

I got my coat and got out of the house. I didn't need to tell my father; he neither cared nor would have noticed my absence. As I left, I admired Canti's good shoveling Job.

_Now if only he did the streets. Does the city care or is it really that bad? _I thought as I tried walking on the streets. The streets were horrendous. The snow was too deep to even walk in. In the end I opted to walk the river, since the ice would have most likely frozen above the snow and a small amount of snow would keep me from slipping.

I haven't thought about since then, but that day was beautiful. Especially on the river, which was a walk down memory lane for me. As I walked down the river I thought about how my life had changed in past couple years.

Mamimi had left Masabe. For the first year, I didn't hear much from or about her. It wasn't until she had made it big she contacted me. Now she tours not only Japan but the world, taking pictures of many things and places sending me souvenirs from places like Italy, France, and lately the Middle East. She also occasionally contributes to my father's zine Come On, Masabe.

But as I passed the bridge where Mamimi used to hang out, I thought, _I miss her thought, I miss her. She hasn't returned to Masabe for 3 years. _

My brother is now one of the most recognized and revered names in major league baseball, but there is always a looming fear that his very strange personal life will be discovered. His current girlfriend was a bisexual, and a swinging one at that, so if that ever got out to the press it wouldn't be good. Also, and very ironically he was having an affair with a member of the press and a woman he rejected so many years ago, Samji Mamimi (oddly enough one of the first things she did when she got to America was watch a baseball game. I wonder why.).

As for my friends Gaku and Masashi, they were just doing great. They along with me and Ninamori had gotten high enough scores to get in the gifted class of Shiden High. They are doing so well that full college scholarships are almost guaranteed. They seemed to be walking on air.

Then there was Eri. While she was doing just as well, there always seemed to be a sad look in her eyes. I felt she had a slight longing for something. It had been like this for 3 years, I thought. At the time I couldn't figure what it was. The best I could foolishly come up with she felt so betrayed about her father's affair. I was wrong….

But let's not get into that. I really don't think you need to know about that at this.

Lastly is also the Commander Amuruo. He had also changed in the 3 years. He seemed no longer moved by revenge as he once was. He was still idiot (and a self-important prick), just less of one. He has given up on anything to do with Haruko and has new obsessions (though he still comes to me to make sure nothing is coming out of my head).

_Everything has changed, _I thought as I neared my destination made it to my destination,_ Most for the better, since MM has gone. But is it worth what I lost. I miss Mamimi. And there is also something else missing. Something that I got near the end of MM's rule._

_But that, I believe, I can't get back._

I could then see it, The Masabe Gallery. It was my destination at that time. It's one of the best places in Masabe. It's a place that encourages free and creative thinking. It also has a restaurant (which I came for that day) and an arcade.

Ironically it was built on the ground where the Medical Mechanica plant, a place devoted to dulling and flattening the mind, once stood. It was built just 2 months after Medical Mechanica's big move to a flipped spot out of Masabe.

As I said before it was a place that supported the arts. It had a world class museum, an art club, a place for guitarist for to jam, and even an open mic in the restaurant. If anything, the Gallery was like the Anti-MM. Come here to free us from MM oppression 2 months late.

I finally walked back towards the road, which (at the point that I was at) was clear of snow. That meant two things to me. First was that my friends would have no problem getting there. Second was that it would be as populous as usual which meant getting a table would be a problem.

_It shouldn't be too bad though. Only parts of Masabe are cleared. Probably most people still can't get out of their homes._

As I neared it I my hopes of getting a table easily disappeared since there was line out of the door.

_Ah Crap. Well it seems everyone wants a nice expensive meal on their day off._

I had no choice but to get in line. I couldn't just walk around the gallery waiting for the line to get shorter for I wasn't so delusional to think that would happen. Then I would have one of the attendants wait outside to inform Gaku, Masashi, Ninamori. I had to wait about quarter of an hour before I got in.

When I did get out of the cold I heard a waitress yell, "Hey Naota! I see you got the day off. Some of us aren't so lucky." It was a girl by the name of Nami. For some strange reason she was always my waitress when I ate at the Gallery. She was nice, hard working (but clumsy) girl. But she always seemed a little out of place. Sort of like Mamimi, Haruko, or Tasku felt.

"Well, the rest of us go to school like they should. The last time I checked, there were already enough cute waitresses." I replied. She was actually only 17 years old. I could never explain why she didn't go to school, and she never honored me with an answer. I honestly think she made a big mistake with her life, but she may have a point. She probably didn't want the pressure of trying to compete to go into a school.

She replied, "I didn't think you where the academic type. I know you are in that advanced class, but you seem to take a lot of days off. And I'm not talking about ones like today. Maybe I should call the school to see what disease you have." That ended the conversation. I had played a little hooky and I usually hanged out there during my unscheduled days off. I usually imitated my father and had Canti get my homework.

After that uncomfortable point, I attempted to change the subject by saying, "Let's get off academics. I have to worry about that on normal days. I have today off. Shouldn't you be getting me a table right now" I heard her grumble a little, she was angry that I ended her fun.

"So where are your friends? You usually don't come alone. Excluding your 'sick days' that is," the waitress asked.

"Don' worry, they'll be coming. And because of that, I'll need a table for four," I replied, remembering I had to get seats for Gaku, Eri, Masashi. As we walked inside, I (as usual) admired the Gallery's mix of old, new, and things that haven't even been created. The restaurant section itself was felt like a mix of a four star restaurant, with a café of current times.

"Well, here is your table, kid. Is there anything I can get you, or are you going to wait for your friends as usual?" she asked as I sat.

"Just a cup of coffee for now," I said, getting adjusted to the seat.

"I'll get it for you soon, _Takkun_," she said jokingly, looking for a reaction. After Haruko and Mamimi left, I had a five day vacation from my brother's name. Then one day Masashi and Gaku started joking around, calling me my brother's name just to piss me off. They knew it was aggravated me so they kept on calling me it. Unfortunately a couple of my classmates heard this. They started calling me it afterwards. It then caught on like wildfire and just as many people called me Takkun as they did Naota.

For that infraction I said, "For that comment, my cloning better be here at the end this sente-." Before I finished the sentence a coffee cup flew through the air and landed safely on my table. Its contents included a black substance.

"Th-that was, um, fast," I said looking amazed at Nami's speed.

About 5 minutes later two people walked in. One had short black hair and was wearing glasses. The other longish blond hair and was wearing some of the latest clothing.

"Gaku, Masashi. I didn't expect you so early," I said as my two buddies came towards the table. They were actually just on time, but since they were usually late

"Well I got a ride from my mom and Masashi drove here in his father's truck," said the geekish and slightly perverted Gaku.

"Thanks for inviting us here, but please tell me you're paying," said the slightly self centered Masashi. He was probably the coolest of my friends, maybe excluding the rich and powerful Eri.

"Don't worry man, I'm paying. Remember my father's zine is doing well and my brother is a Major League baseball star. I'm almost as rich as Ninamori!" I exclaimed. "But get off that. Anything interesting happen on this snow filled day, Gaku?" asking the gossip a question I know he would answer.

"Something very interesting, actually. I was telling Masashi as we got in," Gaku replied. "You know that the school day off was caused by a roof collapse. I think you have guessed that our teacher is involved. But what you don't know is how involved.

"Here is basically what happened. I heard this from one of the police officers who was viewing the surveillance tapes. She was setting up bombs all over the school last night. She was planning to get revenge on her coworkers and you (which can be proven by the kilo of C4, under your desk). She was probably planning on taking today off and waiting for the bombs to go off; killing everyone. Fortunately she didn't account for the snow or the cheapness of the school. As she was placing a pack of plastic explosives on a window (for what reason I don't know), the window cracked open. Luckily at the time it was snowing real hard and one of the explosives she had placed in the area was very volatile. When a snowflake melted on it, the bomb when off. It then started a chain reaction of all explosives she had placed. I imagine Mau-chan was stuck in the middle of the classroom as the bombs went off, dancing to the explosions. In the end when they were searching the rubble of the classroom they found a very disturbed woman crouching saying the words, 'It's his entire fault this happened. That brat, it's his fault.' I wonder who she was talking about."

So my fears were more than right. At the time I found myself lucky. If a single snowflake hadn't gotten in the window, I'd be on the other side by then. Usually someone in a situation like this would get a new lease on life, but my file cabinet was already too full of them.

Masashi then said, "I'd watch your back Naota. Especially after this, I think she wants you dead."

I then started to laugh, "So she wants to kill me. Let her try. If her future attempts are as successful today, I think I'll never have to school again! Compared to the robots of MM, an insane terrorist teacher is nothing. What I should really be afraid of is Eri. Her diabolical plans to kill me could actually work."

"Speaking of Eri-san, where is she?" asked Gaku.

Masashi then replied, "Ah she is probably running late. Little miss future Queen of Masabe probably has to dance to her father's loyal subjects. Come on, Naota lets order."

While I could have waited for Eri, I saw my friends' patience was running low. Anyway I thought I she could order when she got here. So when Nami swung by, we ordered

I made a big mistake.


	3. Chapter 2: Forgetfullness

The usual, the disclaimer: I don't FLCL or Final Fantasy blah-blah-blah-blah.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed this fic, thanks (except for CSBoggs. I don't know just who you mistake me for, but seriously, if you don't have any constructive to say than please stop reviewing my fics. Even if just said fic sucked, I'd be fine, but what you said there has no point). I like the encouragement.Sorry I don't update as often as you might like.

And in this chapter the plot starts to develop. I plan to have Sephiroth appear by the end of the chapter after next.

**Chapter 2**: Forgetfulness

We were all laughing. Joking, laughing, and drinking the small amount of sake that the Gallery would sell (it cut a person off before it got them in too destructive of a state). Nami enjoyed a small break with us after she served us, only to get up to get us more food (and she would only do that only if she wanted some herself). She would often slip when getting us more food, but somehow balance herself before losing it all. For someone with a lack of balance she could quickly regain it. Something about her has never seemed right, but I've ignore such things.

I knew I was forgetting something, but did it matter?

Everything was going wonderful. I laughed more than I ever had in my life. The atmosphere in the room was perfect. I felt truly alive. In memory, the only other time I felt so great was that time I spent with Haruko. But I think it isn't healthy to focus on time long gone.

Yet there was an underlying feeling of doom, and I ignored it. _If I forgot it, it can't be too important, _I thought.

As Gaku and Nami got more intoxicated, they seemed to be moving closer together. I always thought Gaku had a small crush on our waitress, and I now finally had proof. I made plans to tease about it when they were back in the right mind.

About at two hours into our lovely time I managed to remember something was missing. S_omeone_ was missing.

Ninamori was unusually late. While Ninamori was occasionally late, she never broke off an engagement. In fact, when she was late, it was because she was attempting to meet another engagement.

_Something is wrong here. Eri might be in trouble, _I thought. _I should get out of here. _

"Hey guys, Eri-san is late. I'm starting to get a little worried. Excuse me while I call her," I said as I got up to leave the table. They didn't really care, without me they were having just as much fun.

I first called her cell phone. After about 20 rings and no answer I gave up. I then proceeded to call Eri's home. When I called there I got her mother.

"Hello Mrs. Ninamori. Is Eri-Chan there?"

"Not right now Mr. Nandaba. She left about an hour and half ago and said something about being late as she left. Call back later."

_Shit. She has been out for an hour and a half. It wouldn't take this long for her to get here from her house. Knowing her father, her street would be have been plowed almost immediately. The max it should have taken her to get here was 20 minutes. She might be in trouble._

I went back in. Nami now severely intoxicated (because of the ability to serve as much alcohol to herself as possible; using a loophole in the Gallery's own rule) and now had her arm around Gaku. She was looking at him lustily.

_It might not be a wise idea to leave them by themselves. Unfortunately, Eri may need more help. Hopefully Masashi can keep them from getting into too much trouble._

After that thought I said, "Ninamori isn't picking up on her cell and she isn't at home. I'm going to go outside looking for her. I have a couple to say before I leave Masashi, I giving the money to pay for the food we ate and anything else you'll buy. Nami-san, don't do anything you'll regret in the morning, and don't do anything too stupid, Gaku."

As I left I could have swore I heard Nami say in her drunken state, "I won't, regret."

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I ran outside. It was near sundown. But it was still fairly bright since the sun (which was breaking through the clouds) reflected against snow. But still it was pretty cold out there.

I started towards Eri's home. While I knew she wasn't there, I also knew she was coming to the gallery and came from her home. I assumed she came using the main roads since I knew her father would have the city workers clear all the streets that he used directly (including his driveway).

As I ran towards where she lived I saw the stairway I found Eri hiding at when her parents were having that scandal caused by my father. The road near it had been cleared of snow and I could still see the screech marks Haruko made when ran into me. She sent me flying into Ninamori and my forehead and hers met. In the end, the robot I was expecting came out of her head and not mine.

The search wasn't going to well. In the beginning of my search, I couldn't find her. I tried the main roads to her house, and she wasn't there. To make matter worse, it was getting colder and darker by the minutes. This not only made it harder for me to look, but also made me more worried about Eri.

This day was going south, and it was going fast.

After looking for a half an hour, I found myself looking at small alleyway. It (not being a main street) wasn't cleared. I could see a single set of footprints in the snow leading into the ally. For strange reason, I felt drawn to it.

At first I was unsure why it stuck out so much. It was only an ally with footprints. How many alleys are there in Masabe anyway?

_Yeah, but where do you think it leads? _I asked._ It seems to be heading towards the Gallery. You know Eri was running extremely late. She would have taken a shortcut, if she could find one. Those footprints are most likely Eri's._

On this realization I ran into the ally as fast as I could. Alleys aren't exactly the safest places in Masabe. Alleys are known for the fact it is where most of Masabe's crazies hang out. The reason for this is that the Alleys are increasingly complex and easy get lost in (or if you want to lose someone chasing after you). It is always dark in them so unless you know your way around them, you could be lost for days, like some urban Labyrinth.

With this in mind you could just as easily say that Eri got lost, but I knew that wasn't true. Eri, Gaku and I know the alleys well since Gaku's home is in one of the systems. Additionally Eri has a complex schematic of the town (that she got from her father) which she studies regularly so she can get hide if her parents ever have skirmish like they did after the affair.

With all that I knew I guessed foul play. The thoughts I had of what was happening involve a dying Eri getting gang raped deep in the alley complex. My mind was a little imaginative, but for good reason. Everyday on the news the headline was "10 girls were raped and found dead in corner! Hear more at ten." While most of these incidences are greatly exaggerated (like the above incident would only be that a couple of beautiful girls got involved in some bizarre mass tripping incident, where the guy who accidentally started the strange event got to see all their panties, and when someone walked in the alley that the said person would see the guy so dumbfounded that the person assume the assumed the worst and call the cops and the news station), every once in a while some psycho would go on some killing/raping spree so come ten o'clock you wouldn't know whether the story was true or not.

Then to add to my imaginative horror story, I found something disturbing. While deciding which way to go further down ally, I found a small spot of fresh blood near the one of the footprints I hand been following. This easily confirmed my deluded suspicions. I also saw where the footprints led, the blood spots continued.

I immediately disregarded all of what little common sense I had and immediately rushed towards the trail of blood. My mind was racing.

_I hope I'm not too late. Don't have Eri be dead, _I continually thought.

As I got further down the trail the more worried I got and the more horrifying the possibilities got (and in retrospect, the more ridiculous).

I turned past one more corner and stopped. It was a dead end. There was a young teenage girl sitting at the end of the ally. She had long dark hair and was wearing a white coat you could probably imagine being worn by a movie star.

It was my beautiful friend, Eri.

Her hands were clutching her forehead It seemed like she had been injured there. Her usually white hands were red with blood. She was still alive though. She was moving and groaning a little.

She then moved her head up to look at me and said weakly (yet angrily), "Hey Naota. So are you going to stand there looking at me or are you going to help me get out of here." The usual pain in her eyes was there, with a little more. Her face displayed a little anger and embarrassment. Her hands would stay on her forehead at all times

I responded to her and walked over to her. I kneeled down by her, and I asked curiously, "What happened? How did you get injured? How long have you been in this alley?"

She responded, "I was running late, I came down here…" I couldn't hear what she said for a second, "…and I got stuck here. It really doesn't matter, just get me home."

I then said, "What did you say happened? I couldn't hear you for a second."

"It really doesn't matter," she replied. It seemed like she was hiding something. She was still clutching her forehead. I was still curious of what happened here, how and why Eri got here. I also had a fear in the back of my mind that had not occurred to me earlier when running in the alley. The rest of them were baseless worries, but this one was one that actually any substance to me.

This curiosity forced me to ask, "Can I see the injury to your head? It might be bad."

This seemed to strike a nerve with her, "Injury? Th-The-There isn't any injury." That proved it; she was hiding something to me, herself, or both.

"Then why are clutching your head?"

"I have a headache." She was good at thinking fast, but here she was very sloppy

"Then why are your hands covered with blood?" I had her. At first she couldn't respond, but she was still resourceful. She gave it one last go.

She said once more, "I do have a cut, but it is very small. It really doesn't matter. Could you just help me back to my house?"

"If it isn't so bad then let me see it!" I demanded.

"It's fine. Nothing is wrong. I just want to get home," she said trying to stand up, yet still concealing her forehead. I was getting tired of this already. Without saying anything, I grabbed her arms and tried removing her hands off her forehead. When trying to do this she shrieked, "Don't you understand? Nothing's wrong! Please, stop it Naota!"

I responded, "If nothing is wrong, then why do you resist? Because you are so resistant something must be wrong" It was either she was too weak to continue on or she finally saw logic. She pushed her elbows to knock me off. She then finally lowered he hands.

Eri had been telling the truth about not having a head wound. It had been her hands that had been bleeding due to having two deep gashes; one in each hand. They had been punctured by the something. It was no knife wound that had caused injuries; it what was sticking out of her head that had created the wounds.

It was sticking out of her head. It was skin near the base, but as it got near the end the more metallic it got. It was shaped like the tip of a blade. It was fitting, since it had stabbed Eri's hands in her attempts to hide the horn due the sharpness.

She had has now looking at the ground, like she was ashamed. She seemed to be troubled by this and for good reason. What would follow from this problem would probably not end too well for her.

"Eri, I think you should come to my house," she nodded, now resigned to her fate.

My worst fear had come true. It may have come to my mind last, but it was horrifying nonetheless.

Eri had a horn coming out of her head and all I knew was that something would be coming out of it. The only question I had was just how this occurred.


End file.
